A research collaboration between forest scientists of tropical Asia and the United States is gathering new statistically comparable data, aimed at furthering an understanding of tropical forests and at translating biological and socio-economic research into results relevant to forest management, economics and policy. The programme is interdisciplinary and long-term in scope. We review its objectives and describe field methods including characteristics of the sites chosen. Achievements to date in both field work and research are summarised. Early research findings point to the human factors that are likely to influence biodiversity, question the view that the quality of logging practices is influenced by the period of the concession, and emphasise the value of managed rain forest as a carbon store. Yet they also reveal great local and regional diversity in the structure and function of the forests, and of the life history characteristics of their tree species.

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About the Center

The Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability at Michigan State University integrates ecology with socioeconomics, demography and other disciplines for ecological sustainability from local, national to global scales.

Coupled Human and Natural Systems(CHANS) are integrated systems in which humans and natural components interact. CHANS research has recently emerged as an exciting and integrative field of cross-disciplinary scientific inquiry to find sustainable solutions that both benefit the environment and enable people to thrive. Visit CHANS-Net, the international network of research on coupled human and natural systems, for information and ways to engage.